It Starts With Heart
It Starts With Heart is a relatable straight talking podcast, brought to you by Mindset Mastery Online Founder Rebecca Sonuga.
Rebecca is on a mission to empower women to be the best version of themselves, for them to know their worth and to have the self-belief that they can be and do whatever they wish.
Anytime you feel inspired, share this with your friends and tag @rebeccasonuga on social media!
It Starts With Heart
I wanted freedom but had no time... THIS is how I made it work.
Rebecca shares her transformative journey from frazzled corporate professional to successful entrepreneur while raising two children, revealing practical strategies for building a business with limited time and resources.
• Make your why (children, dreams, goals) your reason instead of your excuse
• Conduct a time audit to identify where your hours are going and eliminate activities moving you away from your goals
• Show up unapologetically with your real life—kids, pets, and home environment included
• Utilise the 15-minute productivity method to make consistent progress in small increments
• Create white space in your schedule while ruthlessly prioritising needle-moving activities
• Stretch yourself beyond comfort while maintaining realistic expectations
• Keep showing up even when engagement is low or results aren't immediate
• Remember you're designed for an extraordinary life, not an average one
Screenshot this episode and tag Rebecca on Instagram @rebeccasonuga to let her know what you think!
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Rebecca xx
Hey, hey, hey. It's Rebecca here and I am back. It has been a very long time since I have shown up on this platform, but we are here and I am so excited, as always, to be sharing some value. For those of you who do not know me, my name is Rebecca. I am an ex-corporate girly, now a full-time entrepreneur, and I am on a mission to empower women to be the best version of themselves, for them to know their worth and to have the self-belief that they can be and do whatever they wish Now.
Speaker 1:I was having a really interesting conversation with someone the other day and a few lightbulb moments went off for me as well as them, I think and I was sharing how, at the beginning of my journey, I didn't have the Instagram followers that I've got now. I didn't have the knowledge that I've got now. I didn't have the confidence online that I've got now. I started from zero. I had no business partners. I had no social media presence. I had no authority online whatsoever. I had no authority online whatsoever. I was a complete ghost. I was working a really demanding corporate job in a senior position. I was working long hours. I was doing the commute in and out of the office. I was working in evenings, weekends, I was working on my holidays, I was also looking after a two-year-old at the time when I first come across my first online business, and I was also studying and I was frazzled, overworked, overwhelmed all of the above. I used to go on holiday and I'd still feel burnt out when I got back. And, seriously, I have been there. I've been the frazzled moment. I was still a bit frazzled. Now you can see in the background a little one drew on the wall and I've not managed to sort it yet. And the reason I'm sharing this with you is because if you're that person who feels like you've got so much on your plate you might be a parent, you might have a really demanding job. You might feel overwhelmed. You might be a parent. You might have a really demanding job. You might feel overwhelmed. You might have a burning desire to be more and do more, but you, for whatever reason, feel like you can't because you're restricted, because of you're running out of hours in the day or whatever the reason is.
Speaker 1:And I thought I'd just jump on here and share exactly how I did it. How did I build a business around my little girl? Now as a mum of two. And how did I retire myself from the corporate world, despite how busy I was in the corporate world and I'd love to say it was just working loads and loads of hours, because I think that's what people say, don't? They? Just work really, really hard and you'll get there. And yeah, there was a lot of grit and determination. Of course, yes, I did sometimes a lot of the time stay up later than what I probably should have done and got up earlier than what I needed to, but that's just me in my personality. But what I'm going to share with you is five of my top tips on reflection of what it actually took and just how manageable it is for anyone to do so.
Speaker 1:Let's get straight into it. So the first thing that I did as a parent and it doesn't have to be obviously, you might not be a parent. You don't have to be a parent to get value from this video. Whatever it is your reason why you're doing what you're doing, make that your reason and not your excuse. This is my biggest pet peeve, by the way. So when someone says that they've got no time, well then, don't put themselves in a position to create themselves more time. When someone says that their children are their why and the reason why they're showing up every day and doing what they do, but then they use their kids as a reason to not do what they want to do in order to hit those bigger goals. And I could go on lists and lists and lists of all of this and ultimately it's using them as your reason.
Speaker 1:Do not make an excuse because you're busy. Do not make an excuse because you're a parent. Make an excuse because you're busy. Do not make an excuse because you're a parent. Do not make an excuse for you not being where you want to be in life. Have a look around. Have a look at your situation, your circumstances that you're currently in. Are you truly happy? Do you want more money, more time? Do you want to have the flexibility to work from anywhere in the world? Who knows, have the flexibility to work from anywhere in the world? Who knows? Probably. Over the last five years in my entrepreneurial journey, I have identified that people want one of three things. They either want more money, more time or the flexibility to work from anywhere in the world. Some people want all of those things and more, but sit on their ass and don't do anything. You've got to make your reason the reason and do not make your reason an excuse for not showing up for yourself.
Speaker 1:The second thing I did was I was like, right, okay, let's look at the diary. I've heard the saying multiple times we've all got the same 24 hours in the day. Let's look at my 24 hours. And I used to write down what I was doing throughout the day. I used to write down going to the childminders. I used to write down any time I watched TV. I used to write down any time I went shopping. I used to write down any time I did personal development. I used to write down everything. And I did this for a good few days to identify what I was spending my time doing. And then I looked at everything and I was also someone, obviously, like I said, in the corporate world. I had an online diary. I used to use Outlook for everything.
Speaker 1:I knew exactly what I was doing with my time and I used to look at it and be like, right, okay, what is moving me closer? What's moving me further away? So I had non-negotiables. I had to go to work, I had to do the commute, I had to see to my daughter and I wanted to see to my daughter. There was mother-daughter time that I wanted to do. All of these were non-negotiables for me. But then there was the other times where I knew that if I'd been out on a Friday night, I wasn't waking up at, say, 6 am, 7 am, I was waking up at 5. 9am maybe because my daughter at that time used to sleep quite late before she turned three, and then it all went downhill and she never slept at all after that. But up until that point she was a really, really good sleeper. So I used to maximize that, or I'd have friends around or I'd do whatever. And yeah, I'm not saying you can't do all of those things, of course, but for me I thought I'm seeing a pattern here. That's unproductive time in the morning on a weekend which I could be utilizing to build my business.
Speaker 1:I looked at things I was watching on TV. Oh my god, keeping up with the Kardashians. I've not watched it in so long now, even though I think it's highly entertaining. I was obsessed. I was obsessed. I was obsessed with that TV program, keeping Up With the Kardashians. I'd watch that. Anything to do with Real Housewives, real Housewives anywhere Cheshire, new Jersey, wherever. Where are they all? Atlanta? I was watching all of them because I used to look at them and I did actually used to be inspired at like. Seeing people with money and stuff and living a certain lifestyle inspires me. So it wasn't all bad, it was all inspiring. But at the same time, I thought you know what these hours I'm spending watching this I could use to build my business. So I started to look at ways I could reduce down the things in my diary that was moving me further away from my goals and started to do more of what was moving me closer to my goals. Another thing that I did as a busy mum and you might be a dog mum or a cat mum or whatever, and this will be relevant to you as well Another thing that I did was I showed up unapologetically with my kids.
Speaker 1:What's the point in trying to hide a two-year-old who's now seven, or my youngest who's now almost two, and trying to get them to be quiet when I'm on calls or when I'm creating social media content? It's just not going to happen. You're just causing more stress for yourself. Be authentic, show up for yourself. People think it's inspiring. If people don't think it's inspiring, then they're probably not going to happen. You're just causing more stress for yourself. Be authentic, show up for yourself. People think it's inspiring. If people don't think it's inspiring, then they're probably not going to be your kind of person.
Speaker 1:One of the things that I've learned is that people are going to judge you, whether you like it or not. You may as well just show up as yourself, as a true version of yourself, because at the end of the day, if you're doing this to better your life, to better your kids lives, why do you care what anyone else is saying? So I will obviously try. Like, if I'm on a zoom call and it's a potential new business partner or it might be something that where I do want to put my best foot forward and be more professional, then yeah, I might schedule them times when it's nap time or when I've got child care. But if I can, I can't, and it is just what it is. I've never had one person say to me they're not joining my business or they're not working with me because I had a child on my lap on a zoom call, never had one. And if I did have someone say that, I'd be like toodaloo, you're lost mate, like what do you want me to do. I'm a parent and I'm not going to lock them in a room whilst I'm doing my zoom calls or whilst I'm doing my lives. They're just going to be there. So show up unapologetically as yourself.
Speaker 1:If you've got cats walking across your desk, if you've got a dog that's barking in the background, don't flap about it. There's been times where I've done lives of people and the dog's been. If you've got cats walking across your desk, if you've got a dog that's barking in the background, don't flap about it. There's been times where I've done lives of people and the dog's been barking in the background and they're like shaking like a leaf, like oh my god, like my dog's barking. It's like no, let your dog friggin bark, like what the hell? It's the perks of living a laptop lifestyle. And you don't have to be living a laptop lifestyle in another country on a beach or living the nomad lifestyle. That is not my life. I've got a seven year old in school.
Speaker 1:I don't get on a plane every single week. I don't get on a plane every single month. I am a homebird. I've always said this yes, I love travel. Yes, I love holidays. Yes, I go away multiple times a year, of course. Hence why I work in travel because I freaking love it. But I also love feeling grounded at home and for my kids to feel like they're grounded at home and just to be relatable as well, to show that you don't have to be on a plane every week or every month to grow a successful travel business.
Speaker 1:So what I also did as well was on the days where I knew I didn't have childcare or the days I knew I had a lot on. It might have been kids party, it might have been someone's birthday, it might be just a full on day where I just knew the kids were just going to be relentless. I might not have been able to take them anywhere because it might have been I don't know raining or whatever. So I'm stuck in the house with the kids running wild and I'm thinking been, I don't know raining or whatever. So I'm stuck in the house with the kids running wild and I'm thinking, god, I've got so much to do in my business today. I'd look at where I can get some 15-minute blocks in.
Speaker 1:Now, if you ignore your kid for hours on end, obviously they're going to play up and it's not going to end well for you, and it's not very good to do that as a parent either. But what you can do quite successfully is keep them occupied for 15 minutes, whether they're having their lunch, whether they're watching something on tv. Yes, my kids watch tv. They love peppa pig. Well, my youngest loves peppa pig. My eldest is obsessed with kiddie youtube. She watches stuff on like minecraft videos so she can do Minecraft when she's playing her games. 15 minutes isn't going to harm them Once you sit there then, building your business or doing what you need to do, checking in with your team, whatever it is that you're doing.
Speaker 1:So I used to look at my diary and be like, right, where can I fit in these 15 minute blocks? And most of these 15 minute blocks were either in the mornings or the evenings around my job, or there was on my lunch time when I got a lunch at my job, or there was on a weekend and I used to have breaks around it. But what I did in that 15 minutes? I used to always joke and I'm going to bring the joke back, actually, because it's not really a joke, it's true I used to always talk about having fast thumbs I can get stuff done quick on my phone and I used to always talk about having fast thumbs. I can get stuff done quick on my phone and I just sit there and I still do this now. I'll sit there and I'll pure focus for 15 minutes. I'll set a timer on my phone and I'll do as much as I can get done in 15 minutes.
Speaker 1:You will be surprised what you could get done in 15 minutes and that's how I built my business. On the days when I didn't have childcare or one of my kids wasn't having a long nap or whatever, that's how I literally built it in 15 minute blocks and I used to get in as many 15 minute blocks as I could, whilst also being present, whilst also keeping on top of everything else that mums keep on top of. So that's one of my top tips. You might not want to do 10, 15 minutes. You might want to do 10 minutes or five minutes tips. You might not want to do 15 minutes. You might want to do 10 minutes or 5 minutes, 20 minutes. For me, the sweet spot number is 15 minutes. In fact, I time everything I do in the day If I'm building my business and I'm doing income producing activities, so technically this for me is not an income producing activity.
Speaker 1:This is just me talking, giving value for free. But when I'm talking to people about my business opportunity or I'm doing something that's generating income, I class that as an income producing activity. I've got my targets each day of what I want to set myself for income producing activities, so I time everything that I do. 15 minutes is a sweet spot. If I jump on and do five minutes of building my business or replying to dms or whatever it is, that doesn't count towards my income. Choosing activity time because I do mine in minimums of 15 minute blocks. Even if I did a 12 minute block, I won't count. It don't know why. That's just me. They'll probably do like a lot more than what I say that I do as well, but it's just an idea, because that's something that's massively helped me. And then, finally, what really really helped me was just being realistic as well, so being really efficient with my time, of course.
Speaker 1:But then, at the same time, I wanted to make sure that I had white space in my diary, and I know some people say that white space is the devil you need to back to back all day, every day. Let's be real. Unless you've got childcare every day unless you've got a really hands-on partner. Let's be frank, they've got their own lives and their own jobs, their own businesses as well. Like it's juggling, you're juggling stuff. I mean, I found that if I packed my diary too much when I didn't have childcare I used to stress out so much because kids are unpredictable, aren't they? They get sick, they decide one day to be a little angel, the next day they decide to be a little savage. So at the end of the day, sometimes you can't really win, so you have to let yourself have this extra white space in your diary.
Speaker 1:And then, when you do get opportunities in, like, oh my god, I've, like, I've got like a full hour here, I don't have to do anything, but my little one's having a nap, or she's quite happy sitting here doing this colouring let's blast out another 15 minute block instead. So what you're doing, then, is you're blocking out your diary of the non-negotiables, whether it be personal life or business, but it's leaving some room, some wiggle room where possible, and this should be able to be done, because at the beginning, you've reduced out of your diary all the things that aren't moving you forward, and then, anytime you can do more, you just do more. So you're setting yourself a baseline. And just a little bonus tip, guys, if you sat there thinking, oh I still, I can't do it, I'm just massively overwhelmed, then you need to look at why you're massively overwhelmed and start to do something, whether it's mindset work or calming yourself down in some way in order to think thoroughly. Because, genuinely, I've been there like feeling overwhelmed and stuff all the time. It's such a horrible feeling and you're never showing up as the best version of you. When you're like that, you're not being the best parent, you're not being the best friend. At the end of the day, when you're overwhelmed, you're snappy, you're emotional, you think irrationally, you're tired, more than likely A lot of the time as well. When I felt overwhelmed, it was when I was overtired and then when I had a nice sleep or I had a self-care day which are okay as well, by the way then, yeah, I felt a lot better. So you need to set boundaries in your life, and I listened to something I can't for the life of me remember where I listened to it too, where I would have obviously shared it with you, but who was it? Can't remember who it was. It'll come back to me at some point and I'll probably share it on another video. If not, then it's forgotten, but this tip was really good.
Speaker 1:Now I heard something recently and they said that one of the biggest mistakes a business owner makes is not being able to prioritize. It is essential that you learn how to prioritize what's important and what's needle moving in your business. As a business owner, you can literally have endless to-do lists. You don't even have to be a business owner, just being a mum, just being a mum. My friend, who's not a mum, works a really busy corporate job and we used to compare to-do lists and like think it was a badge of honour who had the longest one. Hers was well long. So you don't have to just be a mum. But If you have these endless lists and you're beating yourself up when you don't get through them, or you're doing loads of busy work or you think everything on your list is important, you're missing the trick.
Speaker 1:The most successful people, the best entrepreneurs, the most efficient businesses are the ones who learn how to prioritise, and prioritising the things that do matter the most. Because at the end of the day especially if you do something that I do, so, even though I work with a lot of people. I've got a team of 600 people. I do a lot of stuff myself. Really, I'm a solo entrepreneur. Even though I help other people with their businesses at the same time, a lot of it is myself.
Speaker 1:It's so easy to spread yourself in. You've got to think about content, you've got to think about accounting. You've got to think about I can't even think now income-ducing activities. There's so much that goes into it. Admin stuff with your team, whatsapp, dms, all of this stuff that is just endless. Pdms, all of this stuff that is just endless.
Speaker 1:And literally, if I had no kids, no life, no hobbies, and I just got up and just lived and breathed the business and this was all I did, then, yeah, I probably would get everything done in, say, 16 to 18 hours a day, and then I'd put my head on the, on the, on my pillow at night and know that I had done everything I needed to do in my business that day. But let's be real, I don't have 12, 16 or 18 hours. My kids are awake for a lot of them, hours, okay. So you've got to be realistic, but at the same time, you've got to stretch yourself, but at the same time. You've got to stretch yourself. So many people are not stretching themselves, so don't get it twisted. You've got to get a bit uncomfortable. You've got to do the things that most people won't to achieve what most people never will in their lifetime.
Speaker 1:If you feel like there's something about you that's different, that's how I felt. I used to be driving home from work and I used to feel different, at least. But I'm just a different breed of person. I'm built differently. Don't know what it was, I just knew that I was not the same. I was not meant to be living a normal, average life like every other person. I was designed and I knew deep in my heart I was meant to be living an extraordinary life. And we're getting there, guys.
Speaker 1:But it's because I took the action and it's because I did it unapologetically. It's because I show up even when no one else is listening. There's been so many times I've had tumbleweeds. I've done Zoom calls to my team and hardly anyone's turned up on them. I've posted reels that got one like on it oh, I've been there, I've done it all. I've been on lives talking to myself and I've carried on showing up anyway, because it only takes a few individuals to really grasp what you're doing for you to be able to change their lives. So hope you got some value from that. If you have, make sure you reach out to me on Instagram, my main platform at Rebecca Shenuga R-E-B-E-C-C-A, s-o-n-u-g-a, and, yeah, let me know what you think. Screenshot this episode. Tag me, tag your friends in it and I will see you on the next one.
